Carnival CEO plans to raise prices: "we are way too much of a value"

[sfaaa]

Fact is every cruise line is raising prices since Covid re opening. Carnival is now following this industry trend.

[Pellaz]

We've been happy with our post-COVID cruises and my $35 total-fare solo cruise was WELL worth the price since I won 3x the overall cost (incl. airfare and hotel) in that "cash vault" casino machine that no-one ever seems to win.  🙂  

 

THAT BENG SAID, if they raise prices by a significant amount -- for me that would be 30%+ of their typical fares -- I'll start considering MSC or Norwegian, or maybe Royal.  MSC offers tier matching, and NCL always seems to be giving perks away.  We'll see.   

And if the cost of cruising spikes TOO much, there's always land vacays and all-inclusives to consider. 

[CruiseHealing]

Reviewing different bookings in late 2023 the short cruise pricing appears to be just slightly higher than this year.  For the 6 night or higher cruises the prices are higher about 15%. 
 

The one thing I did notice were the frequency of +7 day cruises not going to far East Caribbean ports. (St Thomas, St Kitts etc) and are at least  25% higher.  Also Amber Cove, Grand Turk  privates island are being heavily used.  This is probably the result of fuel cost.  Stay close to save fuel dollars.  

[justafem]

I book carnival BECAUSE they're cheap.  If they want to compete with the better lines, they better increase their game.  

 

I'm not going to pay $300 a day for a basic room on carnival.  I won't.  I'll go back to more mainstream lines such as Princess, who offer a package for drinks, WIFI and grats for $60 per person per day. 

 

Carnival is the WM of cruise ships.  They've proven that again and again.  

 

Have all restaurants open for lunch, but close 80% of them for dinner.  I know they're trying to herd us into the dining room, but the experience isn't pleasurable.  It takes 1-2 hours for dinner and half that time, we're sitting waiting for food.  Several times, they offered bread service over and over to keep us occupied. 

 

Fix the staffing issues, fix the food issues.  Running out of food shouldn't be happening.  Either don't offer those choices, or be sure there's enough for everyone.   Staff shouldn't look like they're being run ragged or doing the job of 1 1/2 people.  The issues from the restart are over.  Countries are begging for their people to work, restrictions have lifted, Philippines, Jamaica and Africa have shortened their work access to weeks from months.   

 

Then there's the nickel and diming of everything. Sure, there's coffee in the buffet, but it's undrinkable.  Want a better cup?  Not great, but better?  That'll be $5.  Want a better dessert than what's in the buffet?  Where the desserts taste like sugar, shortening and uncooked flour?  Well there's a better dessert in the coffee shop.  Not great, but better.  That'll be $3. 

 

Food is inconsistent.  From plate to plate.  From either hammered overcooked, or pasty undercooked.  One plate will have 3 small broccoli, while the other has a mountain.  One steak will be 4 oz, while the other will be 9.  Served on the same table.  

 

Now they're taking away the watermelon at the mexican place.  Watermelon?  Really?  That's breaking the cruise line's budget? 

 

They took away the happy hour at the Red Frog Pub.  I bring my fishbowl on every cruise.  That's enough for a day's worth of booze. And I'm happy to pay $20 for it.  I'm ecstatic at $10 and will fill it twice.  Or I'll get my free drinks in the casino and they won't get a penny more for booze out of me.   

 

Steak house could be great, but even though wagu is on the menu, it's never available (tried 5 times on 5 different cruises).  They took away the table art and even the desserts are pretty, they're also pretty tasteless.  Even service in the specialty dining venue has suffered.  

 

Sure, there are decent comedians, but the venues are small, crowded and impossible to navigate or get a drink. Production shows feel like I'm watching a high school production. Poor costuming, rushed sets and mediocre performances. 

 

I get it.  Cheap.  Made for the masses.  But if you don't give the value for the money spent, we'll go elsewhere and they'll only have WM cruisers.  

[Jasonsterling]

If they want to increase prices they can start with the Casino Deals, lol. Maybe a free balcony room or even suite AND free drinks all over the ship AND obc AND free specialty restaurants is adding up. I get that there are some people who play enough to justify the offers but people I know getting them definitely aren't. They're like Jason just go play a hundred dollars during your cruise and you'll get a free room! That said if they're going to raise prices people are going to expect a greater experience and quality in at least some fashion. 

[1kaper]

6 hours ago, sfaaa said:

Fact is every cruise line is raising prices since Covid re opening. Carnival is now following this industry trend.

 

And that is fine.  Prices for everything have gone up.  It is the "we are way too much of a value" part that is my issue.

[asalligo]

I see why he wants and maybe even needs to do this, but the second a Carnival cruise is the same price or even close to any other brand I am jumping ship. I cruise the best price I can find. I am not brand loyal to Carnival and the product they are delivering lately is not making that better. 

 

 

 

[ontheweb]

7 hours ago, sfaaa said:

Fact is every cruise line is raising prices since Covid re opening. Carnival is now following this industry trend.

True, we are booked on another cruise line. When we booked the offer was 60% off the second passenger (which is actually 30% off both passengers). Their new offer is second passenger free (which is actually 50% off each passenger). I called our TA to see if our cruise had now gone down in price with this larger discounted offer. He calculated, and not only had it not gone down, our new fare would have been higher.

[At Sea At Peace]

 

 

CCL simply doesn't have a choice but to raise cruise fares, on board item fares and cut costs.  No choice.

[talkorpi]

36 minutes ago, At Sea At Peace said:

 

 

CCL simply doesn't have a choice but to raise cruise fares, on board item fares and cut costs.  No choice.

 

Which is fine for them.  I understand how bad their financial situation is.

 

However, I am also sensitive to the economy, and unfortunately if they do decide to keep jacking up prices, I will be forced to look elsewhere.  I can already barely afford the current prices anyways.  I imagine many are in this same situation.

Edited December 16, 2022 by talkorpi

[mz-s]

31 minutes ago, At Sea At Peace said:

 

 

CCL simply doesn't have a choice but to raise cruise fares, on board item fares and cut costs.  No choice.

 

The problem with this is they have strong competition that may not have to cut as much. For just a few things - there is no bacon crisis on RCL and you still get twice-daily room service despite paying the same (or similar) daily gratuity. RCL's prices really aren't much higher than CCL, in fact they're pretty much the same most of the time.

[DallasGuy75219]

47 minutes ago, At Sea At Peace said:

 

 

CCL simply doesn't have a choice but to raise cruise fares, on board item fares and cut costs.  No choice.

Except they have no pricing power on the  2/3 of their fleet with an outdated hard product, and all the whole cruiseline is understaffed and has suffered from repeated cuts to the soft product.

 

Maybe they "want to" or "have to" raise fares but basic economics says you can't drive a revenue premium with a product inferior to your competitors.  Yes they can raise fares but with their current product and industry capacity they're either going to wind up sailing half full or discounting fares again.

 

 

[At Sea At Peace]

55 minutes ago, talkorpi said:

 

Which is fine for them.  I understand how bad their financial situation is.

 

However, I am also sensitive to the economy, and unfortunately if they do decide to keep jacking up prices, I will be forced to look elsewhere.  I can already barely afford the current prices anyways.  I imagine many are in this same situation.

 

49 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

The problem with this is they have strong competition that may not have to cut as much. For just a few things - there is no bacon crisis on RCL and you still get twice-daily room service despite paying the same (or similar) daily gratuity. RCL's prices really aren't much higher than CCL, in fact they're pretty much the same most of the time.

 

32 minutes ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

Except they have no pricing power on the  2/3 of their fleet with an outdated hard product, and all the whole cruiseline is understaffed and has suffered from repeated cuts to the soft product.

 

Maybe they "want to" or "have to" raise fares but basic economics says you can't drive a revenue premium with a product inferior to your competitors.  Yes they can raise fares but with their current product and industry capacity they're either going to wind up sailing half full or discounting fares again.

 

 

 

All on point.  That is why I continue to see CCL in a really tough situation.  What the 'need' to do and 'have' to do is inconsistent with 'what they are' and 'have been' and the market niche's that they have mastered pre-pandemic.

[bafinegan]

15 hours ago, jjzblla said:

I would never pay the same price or more for a Carnival Cruise as I would for a land vacation. 

 

I think Weinstein is maybe considering their new big ships but not all of the rest of the tired old ships with minimal staffing and cutbacks in every area when he says they're "too much of a value".  Comparing a Carnival cruise to a land based vacation is comparing apples to oranges.

 

We were on the Breeze in June and I felt like it was a fine vacation for the price but it certainly wasn't worth any more than what I paid for it.  I most certainly wouldn't consider it "way too much of a value". There seem to be so many cutbacks in so many areas that it was almost depressing.  We decided on that cruise that we will move to a different cruise line for a while because Carnival isn't the value that it used to be. 

 

 

Thats what hubbs and I have done.  We have 2 booked for next year- MSV and Princess.  Prices are decent.  Will wait and see how the service it, but it is a  change.

[evandbob]

I may continue to book Carnival's newest ships like the MG & Celebration.  But after 40 plus Carnival cruises, I haven't been interested in booking their older ships. even with free casino fares for OV or inside cabins.  Been there, done it, not interested any more.

 

Value wise, Celebrity is a winner for us now.  Better ships & decor, MDR food is more to our liking, and just seems a bit classier than Carnival.

[firefly333]

15 hours ago, blyle said:

Prices are pretty high on all cruises I'm looking at.  I am moving to Princess for awhile since the deals were fantastic.

I'm convinced texas is higher priced as I keep reading how low carnival prices are but can book cheaper elsewhere. I also believe there must be different tiers of offers as my vipf offers stink. So it seems to also depend on gambling and the port you leve from.

 

Princess had some jan 2023 deals half what carnival wants. 22% solo supplement. Maybe because I'm booked on crnival for Jan  2024 they dont send good deals to entice me. If I can book 2 other and ncl coming in soon why pay higher for carnival. They really seem to discourage solo cruising. 

[firefly333]

1 hour ago, mz-s said:

 

The problem with this is they have strong competition that may not have to cut as much. For just a few things - there is no bacon crisis on RCL and you still get twice-daily room service despite paying the same (or similar) daily gratuity. RCL's prices really aren't much higher than CCL, in fact they're pretty much the same most of the time.

Rcl is following carnival and I think January they will cut to once a day housekeeping. Early or late, same like carnival, except they havent made the same cuts in food carnival has. It's also trial basis.

 

On the plus side the messenger thing in the app which has been 1.99 pppd will be free in January.  

 

Also menu changes coming. 

[resetjet]

I love cruising but he has to realize that with land there are limitless possibilities.  The biggest problem we face today is itinerary.  How many times can you go to St Thomas?????  I don't care to ever go again.  That and seasickness, viruses, etc.....So far I have been in a hurricane that is famous with carnival crew, our ship hit an iceberg in alaska tearing a 25 foot hole in it, stranded in port, got a terrible staff infection in the hot tub that took over a year to get rid of, caught some kind of virus many times, got food poisoning, fogged in and various other things.  I have stayed on land, much more, but I can't say that I have ever had much of a mishap.  At least nothing comes to mind.  Its a different animal then land and will always be priced considerably less.  

[BlerkOne]

3 hours ago, Jasonsterling said:

If they want to increase prices they can start with the Casino Deals, lol. Maybe a free balcony room or even suite AND free drinks all over the ship AND obc AND free specialty restaurants is adding up. I get that there are some people who play enough to justify the offers but people I know getting them definitely aren't. They're like Jason just go play a hundred dollars during your cruise and you'll get a free room! That said if they're going to raise prices people are going to expect a greater experience and quality in at least some fashion. 

This ^^^^

 

Cutback on the freeloaders and the average price per cabin to Carnival goes up.

[justafem]

2 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

This ^^^^

 

Cutback on the freeloaders and the average price per cabin to Carnival goes up.

The casino pays the rest of our 'free' fares, to the cruise line.  There is no income loss for the room.  

 

Then the casino pays for space on the ship.  

 

We pay it back in gambling revenue.  Trust me, that guy that gambled $100 isn't going to continue to get those amazing deals if he continues to only gamble that $100.  

 

There are no freeloaders.  The cruise line gets paid. 

[jsglow]

This all comes down to what the market will bear.  We know the product.  Each and every person will assign a value proposition to the price point.  And cabins will either sell or they won't.  Which is kinda like every product/service in the world. (I told you guys that economics was easy. 🙂)

[Kevin308]

1 hour ago, firefly333 said:

I'm convinced texas is higher priced as I keep reading how low carnival prices are but can book cheaper elsewhere. I also believe there must be different tiers of offers as my vipf offers stink. So it seems to also depend on gambling and the port you leve from.

 

Princess had some jan 2023 deals half what carnival wants. 22% solo supplement. Maybe because I'm booked on crnival for Jan  2024 they dont send good deals to entice me. If I can book 2 other and ncl coming in soon why pay higher for carnival. They really seem to discourage solo cruising. 

Texas Does have higher prices. That is why the port is growing and getting new ships.  Lines like higher prices.   I grew up there but live in Shreveport LA.  Fair wise it is always cheaper out of NO.   However since I have family in Galveston County I get to skip a hotel and parking because I can stay at faimly and leave a car there.  So that is what I pick.     Plus Lots of big Cities in Driving range to the port and Texans are pretty use to making those drives.   (I grew up down there)

[1kaper]

20 minutes ago, justafem said:

The casino pays the rest of our 'free' fares, to the cruise line.  There is no income loss for the room.  

 

Then the casino pays for space on the ship.  

 

We pay it back in gambling revenue.  Trust me, that guy that gambled $100 isn't going to continue to get those amazing deals if he continues to only gamble that $100.  

 

There are no freeloaders.  The cruise line gets paid. 

 

We sailed on a casino rate. I also bought an excursion (two if you count the clamshell on HMC), Cheers package, a necklace and ordered sushi several times. Plus we gambled. 
 

oh and we “upgraded” at a cost so they got to sell our cheap room again. 

Edited December 16, 2022 by 1kaper

[Out of Iowa]

I admit - for the first time, yesterday I peeked at the cost of an NCCL Alaska cruise from Seattle in the shoulder season.  $3,000 for two of us in an interior - including airfare from our little local airport and a wishlist that would impress others but doesn't do all that much for me:  grats included (I always prepay them on CCL), free internet, free drinks (we only enjoy 1-2 drinks per cruise), free upscale dining (never been there, the MDR is always sufficient for us) and excursion credits....and now Justafem on this board reports that CCL has removed the watermelon from the Mexican place on Lido?  Good watermelon is hard to find in the Midwest most of the year....I always savored Carnival's watermelon.

 

NCCL works out to be just $150 per person, all-in...that is very, very inviting. 

[BlerkOne]

33 minutes ago, justafem said:

The casino pays the rest of our 'free' fares, to the cruise line.  There is no income loss for the room.  

 

Then the casino pays for space on the ship.  

 

We pay it back in gambling revenue.  Trust me, that guy that gambled $100 isn't going to continue to get those amazing deals if he continues to only gamble that $100.  

 

There are no freeloaders.  The cruise line gets paid. 

The casino is not paying full fare, if they pay at all.

 

"Trust me" are words of politicians.

 

But there are accounting differences. One is upfront cash vs no guaranteed onboard spend. A gamble indeed.